{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-cramer-urge-secretary-mayorkas-ag-garland-to-address-the-biden-administrations-mass-amnesty-for-migrants", "Rounds, Cramer Urge Secretary Mayorkas, AG Garland to Address the Biden Administration\u2019s \u201cMass Amnesty\u201d for Migrants", "2024-06-14", "2024", "2024-06", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "Mike Rounds", "R000605", "www.rounds.senate.gov", "rounds", "https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) recently sent an oversight letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland asking for answers on reports that the Biden Administration granted thousands of illegal immigrants \u201cmass amnesty\u201d by terminating more than 350,000 asylum cases in a two-year period. The report indicates 102,550 asylum cases were dismissed in 2022, followed by 149,000 in 2023 and 113,843 cases in the first four months of 2024. This is compared to just over 26,000 during the entire Trump administration.\n\nThe senators are requesting detailed responses from Mayorkas and Garland regarding the administration\u2019s handling of immigration and border security. The senators raised several questions about the administration's actions, including the accuracy of the reported figures, the justification for the \u201cprecedent-breaking\u201d surge in dismissals and the measures in place to prevent this policy from incentivizing illegal immigration and compromising national security.\n\n\u201cAccording to the report, the administration has dismissed the removal proceedings of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who the Biden administration has determined do not possess a criminal record or are not considered a threat to national security,\u201d wrote the senators. \u201cThis action allows these individuals to remain in the United States indefinitely without undergoing the proper legal processes required to either grant or deny their asylum claims. Such a practice undermines the integrity of our immigration system, and is an affront to every person pursuing a legal path to the United States.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe American people deserve transparency and accountability regarding the administration\u2019s handling of immigration and border security,\u201d the senators concluded. \u201cThe current state of affairs at our southern border is unacceptable and demands immediate and effective solutions. We urge you to provide a comprehensive response to these questions and outline a clear plan to restore the integrity of our immigration system.\u201d\n\nAdditional cosigners include U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).\n\nRead the full letter HERE or below.\n\n+++\n\nDear Secretary Mayorkas and Attorney General Garland,\n\nWe write to you today regarding recent reports of the Biden administration's purported \u201cmass amnesty\u201d for illegal aliens. According to a recent article published by the New York Post on June 2, 2024, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) detailed the dismissal of over 350,000 removal cases since 2022 under the guise of prosecutorial discretion.\n\nAccording to the report, the administration has dismissed the removal proceedings of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who the Biden administration has determined do not possess a criminal record or are not considered a threat to national security. This action allows these individuals to remain in the United States indefinitely without undergoing the proper legal processes required to either grant or deny their asylum claims. Such a practice undermines the integrity of our immigration system, and is an affront to every person pursuing a legal path to the United States.\n\nAccording to the article, this practice is governed by a memo issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Principal Legal Adviser Kerry Doyle in 2022. The memo instructs agency prosecutors to advise immigration judges of which cases ICE considered nonpriority and that the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor believes dismissal of proceedings is appropriate. The numbers are staggering: 102,550 cases were dismissed in 2022, followed by 149,000 in 2023, and 113,843 cases in just the first four months of 2024. This is in stark contrast to the Trump administration, which barely surpassed 26,000 over the entirety of his four years in office.\n\nPresident Biden\u2019s recent executive order uses 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to purportedly shut down the southern border if illegal crossings surge to a daily average of 2,500 over 7 days. This action is too little, too late, and its numerous exceptions make clear that the Administration is more interested in creating the appearance of an orderly border than stopping illegal crossings. It is also an implicit admission of the administration\u2019s failure to manage the border crisis effectively from the outset. Only in its fourth year, and only after millions of illegal aliens have unlawfully entered the country, has the Administration discovered that it has any authority to suspend illegal crossings. The executive order does not address the root causes of the crisis\u2014the Biden administration\u2019s open borders policies\u2014and fails to provide a sustainable long-term solution.\n\nThis administration\u2019s approach has consistently downplayed the severity of the border crisis, initially denying its existence, then reluctantly acknowledging it, and now attempting to address it through inadequate measures. The repeated failures in border management under your leadership have led to an unprecedented backlog of 3.5 million asylum cases, posing a substantial burden on our immigration system and increasing the risk of criminal activities by illegal aliens.\n\nGiven the gravity of these issues, we seek detailed responses to the following questions:\n\nCan you confirm the accuracy of the reported figure of 350,000 asylum cases dismissed since 2022? If this number is incorrect, please provide the correct data and explain the discrepancy.\n\nOf the cases that EOIR has administratively closed in each of the past three fiscal years, how many concerns unlawful entry into the United States across the southern border that occurred on or after January 20, 2021?\n\nAccording to data published by the New York Post, at the peak of the Obama administration in 2016, DHS allowed 20,915 asylum seekers to remain in the U.S., while the Trump administration allowed 26,249 throughout its entire tenure. However, since 2022, the DHS has closed over 350,000 asylum cases, with 149,305 allowed in 2023 alone\u2014a 700% increase compared to 2016. Do DHS and EOIR deny the accuracy of these data? If not, how do DHS and EOIR justify this precedent-breaking surge in aliens with defensive asylum claims being allowed to remain in the United States following dismissal of removal proceedings compared to the lower numbers set by prior administrations of both parties?\n\nOf the cases dismissed or administratively closed by EOIR, how many pertain to inadmissible aliens who unlawfully crossed the southern border on or after November 1, 2020? In how many instances did ICE OPLA advise EOIR that the case was a nonpriority and recommend dismissal?\n\nHow do DHS and EOIR plan to effectively reduce the immigration court backlog of 3.5 million cases while maintaining the integrity and security of the immigration process?\n\nWhat percentage of the current backlog of removal proceedings do DHS and EOIR expect to dismiss under this policy, and what impact will this have on the overall case backlog?\n\nHow do DHS and EOIR intend to prevent this dismissal policy from incentivizing illegal immigration, where illegal aliens might expect their cases to be granted or dismissed, thus allowing them to remain in the country indefinitely?\n\nWhat measures are in place to ensure that dismissed cases do not compromise national security, and how do DHS and EOIR monitor and manage the risk of criminal activities by illegal aliens with dismissed cases?\n\nThe American people deserve transparency and accountability regarding the administration\u2019s handling of immigration and border security. The current state of affairs at our southern border is unacceptable and demands immediate and effective solutions. We urge you to provide a comprehensive response to these questions and outline a clear plan to restore the integrity of our immigration system.\n\nThank you for your prompt attention to this critical matter.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:11:47Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-cramer-urge-secretary-mayorkas-ag-garland-to-address-the-biden-administrations-mass-amnesty-for-migrants"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4341359492391348, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}